The Water Brothers Surf Fest in Newport, RI was never a small, but Sid and Danielle Abruzzi raised the bar for this fourth version of the event.

The annual event included a half pipe and several hundred vintage surf boards all contained within Fort Adams, the same venue which houses the Folk and Jazz Festivals. Neil of Tora surfboards put on a shaping demonstration and awards were given to the owners of the best boards. Special guests included Tony Alva, Peter Townend, and Mike Tabeling.

Here are some pictures from the event. Well done Sid! We’re all looking forward to doing it again next year.

Don’t ask me what the other 146 reasons are. They constantly change… but there are too many to list.

Today’s reason is that while most people were just getting up and starting to shovel their cars out after Hercules dumped snow on us, a few souls braved the negative wind chills to find solitary surf. Snow covered cars, unplowed roads, single digit temps, 20mph winds, frozen salt water covering the rocks – it didn’t matter. The call to surf is strong.

Tuesday was colder and the surf smaller than the previous few days. The sky and light were amazing, though, and I had to pull over to take a picture on my way to check the surf. The only place I could find was a cemetery. Respect to the McIntyres…

We held court on the wall trying to decide whether to surf or not. Then Katie showed up, put on this hat, and the decision was made. Got to surf when friends come home.

After a few hours of surf and catching up with everyone, it was time to take pictures. What a sky!

Greg and Cheyne called in sick and stayed in the water all day. Here they are discussing hydrodynamics and fin selection.

Then one of the rare sets came through and they got back to surfing.

Greg doesn’t surf so much as walk on water…

Greg spotted an outside set and had to warn me before a wave destroyed my camera. See the concern in his face.

After saving my camera and the day, Greg went out to catch one of these monster waves for himself.

Pete showed up to watch and the coolness factor went through the roof. Check out that helmet.

Pete knew someone out in the water and blew his cool. “Hi! Hey I know that guy!”

Thankfully, Pete composed himself quickly and coolness was restored. Click on this link for more images.